Whether in a residential home or within the hotel and hospitality industry, keeping a bed skirt aligned with the box spring in order to maintain a perfectly made up bed can be a burdensome chore.
Generally, the bed skirt lies on top of a box spring and underneath the mattress. In order to maintain the bed skirt in its initial desired position, or to readjust and correct the placement of a bed skirt that has shifted from its initial desired position, the entire mattress must either be lifted up or removed for the bed skirt to be properly aligned, and once the bed skirt is aligned, the mattress must be lowered to its exact former position. The mattress cannot be slid into position, because the bed skirt will inevitably slide along with the mattress and thus out of position.
Because of the weight of mattresses today, the individual or “user” making the bed—whether it be in a residential setting or in the hotel and hospitality industry—will more likely attempt to tuck in the bed skirt if it appears to be dragging or too low, or alternatively, the user will pull down on the side of the bed skirt if the bed skirt appears too high or short. These solutions to obtaining the appropriate aesthetic and functional goal of the bed skirt are only temporary, if not impossible without lifting the mattress. As soon as the bed is turned down for use, or re-made the bed skirt will inevitably shift from its desired position on the box spring.
Furthermore, while tucking in the sheets and/or the duvet cover between the mattress and box spring, the bed skirt often “rides” along with the sheets and simultaneously gets tucked into the crevice between the mattress and the box spring. Pulling on the skirt to return it to its proper length while keeping the sheets and duvet tucked in takes time and effort which cannot practically be met, particularly in the hotel and hospitality industry in view of the number of beds and frequency in which those beds must be made by the staff. The problem is further compounded by the fact that, even if the bed skirt was adjusted every time the sheets were tucked between the mattress and the box spring, the bed skirt would once again fall out of alignment with the box spring each time the bedding is pulled back or “turned down” before the bed is to be used.
There are several problems associated with previously developed and currently utilized systems and methods for securing a bed skirt to a box spring. These previous solutions to attempt to maintain the bed skirt in a desired position still present drawbacks in terms of retaining functional and aesthetic appeal while promoting overall efficiency, particularly in hotel and hospitality settings. Problems also include the time expended each time these bed skirt issues must be addressed and the probability of back injuries to the user while addressing these issues.
For example, traditional bed skirts are generally manufactured to be placed on top of the box spring so that the bed skirt falls to the floor on three sides of the box spring without any system for attaching the skirt to the box spring. To compensate for this lack of an attachment system, the hotel and hospitality industry will often attach short strips of an adhesive hook and loop type fastener directly to the box spring and sew a corresponding adhesive hook and loop fastener to the underside or the bed skirt. These methods, however, are only a temporary fix as the adhesive on the fastener eventually weakens, and slides out of place causing the bed skirt to eventually slide out of position every time the bed is made or adjusted. When removing the skirt to launder, the adhesive hook and loop is not re-usable and no longer in original position.
Another attempted solution, called a bed hugger, involves attaching the bed skirt to the box spring along the underside of the bed skirt as well as along the bed skirt's side panels by a separate piece of lining fabric having an elastic gathered bottom edge, similar to a fitted sheet. While the goal of this elastic bottom edge is to keep the bed skirt in place, the elastic does nothing to stabilize or secure the skirt from sliding around. In practice the corners of the bed skirt generally tear or rip, and the elastic is usually insufficient in strength to prevent the bed skirt from sliding off of the edge of the box spring.
In addition, US Patent Publication Number 2008/0222806 discloses a bed skirt that is removable by a zipper or hook-and-loop fastener attached to the decking of the bed skirt, which lies on top of the box spring, but does not secure the bed skirt to the box spring in order to prevent the bed skirt from shifting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,931 to Hamilton discloses a detachable bed skirt wherein a bed skirt without a decking is provided, thus leaving the underlying box spring exposed, and aesthetically unappealing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,193 to Griffith teaches a device for maintaining the bed skirt in a desired position by means of a single tubular frame that is sized to fit over the entire perimeter of the box spring, or alternatively by providing a specifically-sized decking with a zipper assembly on one or more of its edges. Griffith, however, discloses a frame for easy removal and replacement of the bed skirting, and does not teach a system or method that facilities the chore of daily bed making by providing a device that firmly secures the bed skirt to the box spring and which does not obstruct the hands of the user when making the bed, particularly when tucking the sheets or duvet between the mattress and box spring.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is a need for a system and method for quickly and efficiently securing a bed skirt to a box spring. Moreover, because most existing bed skirt devices for securing a bed skirt in position are pre-fitted, there exists a need for fitting a box spring with a system that facilitates the securing of the bed skirt to the edges of the box spring so that it retains its functional and aesthetic goals. This allows the bed skirt to be removed or replaced with the original benefits. When purchasing new box springs, this system is removable and can be attached to the new box spring with minimum time and effort.